Every successful business person has some degree of confidence. However, everyone, from the most successful CEO to someone just starting out in the mail room, can have moments when they believe they cannot overcome the challenges in front of them. This lack of confidence can go on for days, weeks, months and, in some cases, years. No one is 100% confident all of the time, but your insecurities do not have to keep you from achieving your goals.Confidence in Business

When you feel confident in your business life you become more likely to speak out in meetings, present ideas to your superiors, reach out to potential clients and simply become more involved in your company. Confident people are not afraid to dream big and then do everything necessary to achieve their goals. These are the types of people that we often see creating new services and products that were once only ideas. They have the vision and confidence needed to take their idea and turn it into a profitable service.

Benefits of Confidence for Your Business

Confident people do not second guess their fees, and believe that the services they provide are worth every cent of what they charge. When someone is this confident in their services, it makes potential clients more inclined to believe in them as well. If you can instill a level of confidence in your clients, you will not only gain their business, but you will also gain their trust. Clients are more likely to trust someone with their business needs when they trust them and believe that they have what it takes to get the work done.

As your clients begin to see the results you are able to produce, they will often refer you to others they may know who could also benefit from your services. Being confident will not only breed trust and engagement from your existing clients, but it can also go a long way in bringing in a new client base. Those who are hesitant and do not engage with their clients, will likely not experience the amount of success as someone who is confident in what they can provide their clients. Confidence creates confidence, not only in yourself but in those around you as well.

Benefits of Confidence for You

As your confidence continues to grow, you will not only begin to notice that your clients have more faith in your skills; but you do too. Gaining confidence in yourself will not only improve your bottom line, but it will also help improve your self-esteem. As you begin to feel better about your skills, knowledge, and ability to produce results you will begin to believe in yourself. This improved level of self-esteem will not only improve your business life, but will also carry over into your personal life as well.

Teamwork – If you are flexible when it comes to your team and the projects they are assigned; you will notice that they are more eager to get the project done. You will see that your team is open to new ideas and new ways in which to accomplish them. When your team is not stressed, but more relaxed when faced with a large project, you will see positive results.

Satisfaction – As you become more flexible within your company, you will notice that the level of job satisfaction your employees experience is at a much higher level than it was previously. When people are afforded the ability to work in an environment that is not stressful, but more relaxed, they begin to produce work that they are more satisfied with.

Reduced Turnover – When you have a team of satisfied, happy employees you are less likely to experience high turnover rates. This means that your business will benefit from having staff members who remain employed by the company for years rather than months. Reduced turnover rates also provide your clients with the stability they look for when working with a company.

Discover New Talent – As you become more flexible in your business practices, either by offering flexible schedules or initiating new policies, you will be surprised at how much hidden talent you have in your company. Flexible positions, hours and work options can allow you to expand your workforce with individuals who possess talents you may not have realized your business was in need of.

Grow Your Business – It has been shown that businesses that operate with more flexibility in their day to day operations tend to grow at a faster pace than those that do not. This can be attributed to the fact that people are happier working for a business that allows them the freedom to do their job at the office or at home. This also allows businesses to hire individuals who live in different locations to represent their business in that locale.Being flexible is not something that business owners should fear; rather it is something that can actually help you take your business to the next level. If you have been searching for a way to breathe fresh life into your business, you may discover that flexibility is all that you need.

When it comes to FEAR, you have two choices; you can either forget everything and run, or face everything and rise. If you choose to run when you are faced with fear, you will likely fail every time; however, if you choose to face your fear you will find a way to succeed and overcome that fear. The choice is yours, below you will find some effective ways in which you can deal with the fear you face.

When it comes to FEAR, you have two choices; you can either forget everything and run, or face everything and rise. If you choose to run when you are faced with fear, you will likely fail every time; however, if you choose to face your fear you will find a way to succeed and overcome that fear. The choice is yours, below you will find some effective ways in which you can deal with the fear you face.

Learn to Face Your Fear

Acceptance – One of the most important things we can do in life, or in business, is accept that failure will happen. We tend to fear the unknown - Is our business going to succeed? Will we meet our sales goals this month? - and so on. What we need to do to be successful is to accept that we cannot control everything or everyone. Things are going to happen and not all of our plans and goals will be successful. If you can accept that failure is part of business, you will be well on your way to overcoming your fear.

Learn the Cause of Fear – While it is natural to fear failure, we have the ability to determine what the underlying cause of that fear is. If we take a step back from our situation and analyze it, we will likely discover the underlying cause behind the fear we are experiencing at that particular moment. Once we know what the cause is, we have the power to take control of it and keep it from holding us back.

Don’t Let Fear Stop You – You should never allow the fear you are feeling at any particular moment to stop you from achieving your goals. As real as the fear you are feeling is, you need to remember that your goals are just as real. Once you’ve accepted your fear, then you know what is causing it and how to keep it at bay. Once you gain this power, you can then follow through with your goals and do everything you need to in order to achieve them.

Face the Fear – When you face what you are afraid of, you take the control away from that fear. You realize that you have the power within you to overcome that obstacle and continue with your goals. It is common for us to fear what we want the most, if we can learn to accept that on the other side of that fear is success, we will be well on our way to achieving our goals.

It is up to you whether you choose to face your fear or run from it. If you can accept that overcoming your fear will allow you to achieve your goals, you will lead a happier and more successful life.

Have you faced a fear in your business? Share your story and inspire all of us!

When it comes to running a successful business, or simply making more sales, the IDEA concept can help. When you implement the IDEA formula into your business, you will soon notice that you have a better understanding of how you can make more sales and connect with each one of your customers. To help you better understand the concept, I will explain each element.

The IDEA Business Concept

I – Identify the New Issue

When you take the time to closely analyze a situation, you will soon notice elements that you may have missed previously. Identifying the new issue will allow you to recognize the opportunity and follow the appropriate course of action necessary to help you reach the next level.

D – Develop the Opportunity

Each day you are presented with numerous opportunities to grow your business and client base. The important thing you need to do to ensure success is to develop each of these opportunities in order to achieve the desired result. When you are presented with an opportunity, you need to closely analyze it and determine how you should handle the situation to achieve your desired result. Once you look at the situation and develop a plan of action, you will then be prepared to act upon the opportunity and nurture it into a business relationship.

E- Engage the Customer

When it comes to building a relationship with your customers, you need to engage with them. This can be done by taking a personal interest in their own business, ensuring that their needs are met, and making them the center of your attention when you are speaking with them. If you can make your clients feel that what they have to say and what they need matters to you, they will see that you care about the profit they are going to make from the deal, and you value their thoughts and opinions.

A – Action Needed to Make It Happen

As you have likely learned throughout your business career, nothing ever comes easy. In order to achieve the results you’re after, you have to determine what you need to do in order to make it happen. When you can develop a plan, you will be more prepared for what comes next. Whether you are trying to expand your client base, or grow your business you need to determine the specific action you need to take in order to make that happen. Once you do, you will notice that the process is much easier and you are within reach of achieving your goal.

Each day we are faced with decisions and opportunities that can help our business grow; however, it is up to us to recognize each opportunity and determine the appropriate course of action necessary to achieve our goals. If you implement each of these steps in your daily life, you will soon discover that nothing is out of reach when it comes to succeeding at business.

How Optimism Can Improve Your Bottom Line

Business requires you to deal with many different types of people on a daily basis, which means you have likely discovered that working with optimistic people, and being optimistic yourself, leads to a more positive experience. Not only can being optimistic help you enjoy your job more, it can also help you make more sales. Your attitude and the way that you speak with and treat people during the course of the day, can have a huge impact on your bottom line. Below you will find information on how being optimistic can help make you more successful.

Optimism on the Phone

When you work in sales, you will likely connect with a prospect for the first time over the phone. This person has never met you in person and has no idea about your personality or how dedicated you are to your clients. In order for you to reach the next level with this prospect, you will have to create a connection in the short amount of time that you have. To do this, you will need to be someone that the person on the other end of the phone, enjoys speaking with.

This is the ideal situation where optimism can be beneficial for you. When you have a positive attitude on the phone, it can be contagious. If you’re upbeat and fun, the person you are speaking with will feel more comfortable speaking with you. This can not only help you establish that all important connection with them, but it can also help them begin to trust you, which is the foundation of any successful business relationship.

Optimism in Negative Situations

An optimistic attitude can not only help you turn prospects into clients, but it can also help you handle negative situations better. When you work from an optimistic center, you understand that every negative situation is only temporary. You know that there is a solution to the problem and you will likely work harder until you find the best way possible to resolve the problem. When faced with challenges, those with an optimistic attitude tend to handle adversity in a much more productive manner than others.Being Optimistic Helps You and Your Customers Have a Better Experience

Customers would much rather work with someone who is optimistic than with someone who sees the world in a more negative manner. If you enjoy what you do and the people that you work with each day, you will notice that your sales reflect your positive attitude.

The amount of success you experience on a daily basis is based purely on the way that you approach your day. When you approach it with optimism and only see the good in a situation, you will be rewarded with happier clients and a high level of sales each month.

No matter how experienced you are in sales, there is always going to be conflict. Whether it is with the customer or within your internal organization; conflict should be expected. However, if you are able to recognize them and resolve them in a short period of time, you help keep that conflict from becoming a much larger issue.The Causes of Conflict and How to Resolve Them

The Causes of Conflict

The majority of conflict that is experienced at work is often the result of opposing positions, power struggles, competitiveness or just the result of someone having a bad day. However, it has been shown that the primary root cause of conflict is either poor communication or not being able to control one’s emotions. Whatever the cause behind the conflict may be, it is simply not productive to business. To help you understand and resolve conflict, I have listed some helpful information.

Poor Communication

Poor communication is the leading cause of conflict. It is often the result of poor information, lack of information, misinformation or simply no information. To avoid communication problems within your business and with clients, it is important that you communicate in a concise, clear, timely and accurate manner. This will help reduce the amount of uncertainty and avoid the majority of conflicts.

Emotions

Our emotions play a large part on how we react to people and situations. When we allow our emotions to drive our decisions, we will often cause conflict. Allowing our emotions to drive our decisions can often lead to the creation of situations that can dramatically affect our future. The best way to get a handle on our emotions and keep them pushing us into an unacceptable manner of action, we simply need to walk away. Take a few minutes to gain your composure and take another look at the situation. You may discover that your initial reaction was over the top and you can now see the proper way to address the situation. Not only will this help you avoid an embarrassing situation, it will also keep you from saying or acting in a way that could affect your position.

Preventing Conflict

While preventing conflict cannot always be done, you may be able to resolve that conflict before it escalates. This can be done by intervening in a decisive manner to prevent the conflict from escalating. Dealing with conflict quickly will help prevent it from escalating into a problem that becomes more of a distraction to those involved. When you step in and take control of the situation, it demonstrates to your employees, and those involved, that you are not going to put up with that type of behavior. Conflict is not only detrimental to the morale and effectiveness of your business, it can also damage your reputation.

What strategies do you use to resolve or even prevent conflicts in your business?